A tale of two pontoons

We have very recently returned from a quick visit. We arrived early June just as the region came to the end of a sustained bout of dreadful weather. Everyone we spoke to in the village declared they could barely recall a May of such extremes with the weather lurching between pleasant and downright horrible but mainly downright horrible.

The one bit of consolation I can take from the descriptions of the driving rain and howling winds is that my replacement roof has now had a thorough testing and has come through with flying colours.
On the upside the Portuguese weather office are saying that according to the model they use for long range forecasting they expect the months of June, July and August to be the hottest and driest on record.
We were anxious to see if a start had been made on dredging for the new harbour and were disappointed but not altogether surprised to find that most of the boats that had been removed from the area concerned were back there bobbing on the tide and in typical Portuguese fashion no work had commenced.
However a number of portable cabins have been erected near the boat yard and a new pontoon has been installed further up the promenade to replace the existing ferry and water taxi landing which is situated bang in the middle of the proposed new development so things are starting to happen.

A view onto the new pontoon which has been installed up on the new end of the promenade.

All that's needed now is an inspection by the Ferguesia and resolution of the dispute about who is to operate the ferry franchise and we are up and running.

Here we see the ramshackle old ferry landing which is to be removed to make way for the new harbour.

Moored either side with ropes and otherwise free floating you certainly needed sea legs to use it when the heavy tidal currents were running up and down the Ria Formosa.




Once the new landing point is operative the owner of the Little "Cafe Alentejo" will find himself the first port of call for ferry and water taxi users, a privilege previously enjoyed by "Casa da Polvo".
If her gears up for it he will be minted.

Talking of minted, a few changes have occurred in business ownership in the village, more of that later.
Meanwhile I am seriously considering complaining to the manufacturers of my fridge freezer.
According to the ratings on the door a fish should last 3 months in the freezer.
I put Brian in there in mid April and on my return in early June (less than 2 months by my reckoning) the poor creature was stone cold dead.

Developments

Now that a little time has passed I have managed to shake off the euphoria of the struggle against the elements and creatures of the deep that lead to the capture of Brian and turn my mind to the changes and developments in Santa Luzia.

Casa de Polvo appears to have taken over the premises of O Marinhero the new restaurant that opened last summer. We had a meal there before it closed and while there was nothing to complain about there was also nothing to justify the premium price charged.
Little Casa de Polvo on the other hand has gone from strength to strength being popular with visitors and residents alike.
The acquisition of the O Marinhero site (which is incidentally right next door) more than quadruples Casa de Polvo's size and I am pretty confident that with their focused offering and reasonable prices they will make a huge success of it.

During our visit we noticed that almost every commercial premise in the village was displaying an order from the Camera (council) showing a large area of the Rio Formosa from which all moored vessels had to be removed by 10th of April and with typical Portuguese aplomb the owners of quite a few seemed to be contemplating complying.
The reason for the removal of the vessels is so that dredging work can begin on the new marina to be built there and I am looking forward on my next visit to seeing if (a) the boats have been moved and (b) the work has commenced.
Along with the construction of the marina the Eastern end of the promenade is to be widened and improved. A section of local opinion is also in favour of pedestrianising the promenade and lobbying is in progress to achieve this.

The tiny Cafe Santa Luzia has also been dragged into the 21st century.

This one room bar was run by a lady about ten years older than The Royal Navy, she spoke not a word of English and the only Portuguese I ever coaxed from her was "Nao tem" ("I have none"). She has apparently finally put up her feet and handed over to the younger generation who have introduced such innovations as refrigeration,lights and some outside furniture. These, the new coat of brightly coloured paint and the smiling helpful young Portuguese man behind the bar have transformed the place.It is just past the Farmacia, if you visit Santa Luzia, as one day surely you must, call in and enjoy, you will be made most welcome.